Alejandro Jauregui Wins MSPT Showdown Series $1,100 Main Event at Sycuan Casino ($140,665)
The inaugural MSPT Showdown Series $1,100 Main Event at San Diego’s Sycuan Casino attracted 676 entries over three starting flights, which resulted in a $654,220 prize pool. After a full weekend of play, it was 31-year-old Alejandro Jauregui, a poker dealer from Bay 101 who called in sick just so he could play, emerging victorious to claim the title and a $140,665 prize.
While Jauregui, who hails from Salinas, California, has been playing poker most of his life, it was far and away his largest win. In fact, according to The Hendon Mob, he had just a pair of cashes for $18,090. That because when he does play, he’s usually grinding the cash games.
This weekend, some friends from all around the country were congregating in San Diego, so he flew down on Saturday and fired a single bullet into the tournament. Now, he’s an MSPT champ with a juicy six-figure score on his poker résumé.
MSPT Sycuan Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alejandro Jauregui | $140,665 | 1,700 |
| 2 | Jesse Jones | $88,320 | 1,500 |
| 3 | Eli Loewenthal | $58,880 | 1,400 |
| 4 | Jason Fitzpatrcik | $40,562 | 1,300 |
| 5 | Jose Araya | $26,823 | 1,200 |
| 6 | Andrew Moreno | $20,281 | 1,100 |
| 7 | Britton Scheibe | $15,701 | 1,000 |
| 8 | Haiau Han | $11,122 | 900 |
Day 2 saw 80 players return to action and with 72 slated to get paid it didn’t take long for eight players to fall by the wayside including Satoshi Tanaka, Joe Zona, and bubble boy Terence Reid, who fell when his king-jack suited failed to overcome ace-ten in an all-in preflop spot.
Among those to cash the tournament but fall short of the final table were start-of-day chip leader and three-time bracelet winner Adam Friedman (10th - $9,813), Day 1c chip leader Trung Le (11th - $8,505), MSPT veteran DJ Buckley (12th - $8,505), bracelet winner Sandeep Pulusani (14th - $7,196), Kyna England (20th - $5,168), former MSPT champ Ken Baime (22nd - $5,168), Day 1b chip leader Alex Greenblatt (24th - $5,168), and 2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer (30th - $4,318).
The final table started with a bang as three players – Haiau Han (8th - $11,122), Britton Scheibe (7th - $15,701), and Andrew Moreno (6th - $20,281) – all fell within 20 minutes. That left the remaining five players fairly deep, but then Jauregui caught fire. First, he picked off a big bluff from Jose Araya to pull out to a chip lead, which he extended by knocking out Jason Fitzpatrick when ace-seven held against queen-jack all in preflop.
Jauregui began three-handed play with a significant chip lead over his two opponents. First, he dispatched Eli Loewenthal in third place when ace-six held against ace-deuce, and then he set about applying pressure to Jesse Jones.
The duo jostled for a bit before getting in a coinflip with Jones holding two overs against pocket sixes. Jauregui flopped a set, and Jones was left drawing dead on the turn to put an official end to the MSPT Showdown Series at Sycuan Casino.
The MSPT continues next weekend with the 2021 South Dakota State Championship at Silverado-Franklin Casino in Deadwood, South Dakota. PokerNews will be on-site offering live updates from that tournament. For more information, click here.
MSPT Showdown Series at Sycuan Casino Winners
All told, the 11-event series catered to a combined 3,306 entrants over its slate of trophy events, with thousands of others participating in satellites, nightly tournaments, and cash games. In those trophy events, a hefty $1,288,650 in prize money was awarded, truly making it a million-dollar festival.
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $360 Regional Event | 1,047 | $312,162 | Armando Mesina | Chula Vista, CA | $33,329 |
| Event #2: $400 PLO | 75 | $25,125 | Aaron Wallace | North San Juan, CA | $8,543 |
| Event #3: $250 NLHE Sunday Feast | 251 | $50,200 | Fadi Yakou | San Marcos, CA | $7,221 |
| Event #4: $200 NLHE Ladies Event | 79 | $13,825 | Victoria Davidson-Castillo | West Covina, CA | $4,701 |
| Event #5: $360 Seniors | 175 | $51,900 | Joseph Szegedy | Winnetka, CA | $7,981 |
| Event #6: $250 NLHE Turbo Super Stack | 200 | $40,000 | Bob Chow | Las Vegas, NV | $6,098 |
| Event #7: $360 PLO8 | 93 | $27,900 | Ken Po | Seven Hills, OH | $8,369 |
| Event #8: $250 NLHE Tag Team | 418 | $41,800 | Lena Evans & Tavish Margers | Beverly Hills, CA & Santee, CA | $9,798 |
| Event #9: $200 NLHE Hump Day | 161 | $32,218 | Jennifer Craddock | Ocala, Florida | $8,531 |
| Event #10: $1,100 Main Event | 676 | $654,220 | Alejandro Jauregui | Salinas, California | $140,665 |
| Event #11: $360 Last Chace Showdown NLHE | 131 | $39,300 | Anthony Potis | Scranton, Pennsylvania | $8,870 |